Spain v Germany Euro 2024: Julian Nagelsmann questions whether Lamine Yamal can handle pressure in quarter-final tie – BBC
Spain v Germany
BBC Radio 5 Live
This video can not be played
Spain v Germany
BBC Radio 5 Live
Lamine Yamal has been capped 11 times by Spain
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann says Spain's Lamine Yamal is a "talented" and "fun" player – but questioned whether the teenager can cope with the demands of a high stakes Euro 2024 quarter-final.
The 16-year-old winger has provided two assists for Spain so far, just the third teenager on record (since 1980) to provide multiple assists in the competition after Enzo Scifo (1984) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2004).
Yamal again looks likely to be a key player in the last-eight tie against the tournament hosts in Stuttgart on Friday.
But Nagelsmann said: "Let's see how he reacts when things get tough.
"You can't defend him completely. You have to be prepared for different things. My focus is less on [Lamine] Yamal, more on Jamal [Musiala]. We can do something in attack ourselves."
Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said his Barcelona team-mate Yamal enjoyed an "unparalleled" season in La Liga last season, but hopes a passionate home support can disrupt Spain's approach after their impressive start.
The midfielder added: "We want to ignite this atmosphere with the style and manner in which we play. That can push us – and perhaps make the Spaniards a bit less secure."
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has promised his side will be on the front foot against Germany.
His side are the only team in the tournament to have won all of their matches so far.
"We will try to take the initiative and go all-out from the first minute, to minimise their strengths and exploit their weaknesses," said De la Fuente.
"It could have been the final of the European Championship, but I think it will be an even game on a footballing level."
De la Fuente acknowledged that stifling the influence of Germany midfielder Toni Kroos will be vital for his side to succeed.
"We thought about tying Kroos' feet together, but I'm not sure if Uefa will let me," the 63-year-old joked.
"We know how Kroos behaves. We will try to make sure he doesn't have the chance to receive the ball and will limit his passing options."
Germany centre-back Jonathan Tah is available after one-match suspension and he is set to partner Antonio Rudiger in defence with Nico Schlotterbeck poised to drop to the bench.
Spain have no fresh injury concerns and are set to keep the same side which beat Georgia 4-1 in the last 16. Defender Nacho and forward Ayoze Perez are both available after minor muscle injuries.
The game kicks off at 17:00 BST and there will be full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Sounds with text updates on the BBC Sport website and App.
It will be screened live on ITV1 with brief highlights on BBC One during coverage of the Portugal v France (20:00) match later that day.
A full replay of the match will be shown on BBC One and on BBC iPlayer at 01:40 on Saturday.
This will be the fourth meeting between Spain and Germany at a European Championship, with Spain winning two (1984 and 2008) to Germany's one (1988). Their last such meeting was in the 2008 finalwith Spain winning 1-0 thanks to goal from Fernando Torres.,
No host nation has ever been eliminated from the quarter-final stage of a European Championship, with all four previous host quarter-finalists (England in 1996, Netherlands in 2000, Portugal in 2004 and France in 2016) progressing.
This will be Germany's 19th quarter-final tie across the World Cup (14) and European Championship (five) – the most of any European nation at the two major tournaments. They have progressed from 15 of their previous 18 (83%).
Germany have scored 10 goals across their four matches at Euro 2024, which is already their joint-most in a single edition of the European Championship.
Spain's Fabian Ruiz has been involved in five goals in his last four games in all competitions (three goals, two assists). He has both scored and assisted in two of his three games at Euro 2024 so far – no player has ever done so in three different games at a single edition of the European Championship.
Last Updated 3rd July 2024 at 12:05
Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made.
To watch and listen, you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Spain v Germany. BBC Radio 5 Live.
Listen here at 17:00
Prematch: Spain v Germany. BBC Radio 5 Live.
Listen here at 16:30
UEFA European Championship
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
This will be the fourth meeting between Spain and Germany at the UEFA European Championship, with Spain winning two (1984 and 2008) to Germany’s one (1988). Their last such meeting was in the 2008 final with Spain winning 1-0 thanks to a Fernando Torres strike.
This is the first meeting between Spain and Germany since the 2022 World Cup, and a 1-1 draw in the group stages. Spain are unbeaten in their last four major tournament matches against Germany (W2 D2), with these games producing a total of just six goals (Spain 4, Germany 2).
Having lost their first meeting with Spain on German soil (2-1 in a 1935 friendly), Germany are unbeaten in their last eight games against La Roja on their own turf (W5 D3).
No host nation has ever been eliminated from the quarter-final stage of the UEFA European Championship, with all four previous host quarter-finalists progressing: England won a penalty shootout against Spain in 1996, Netherlands beat Yugoslavia 6-1 in 2000, Portugal beat England on penalties in 2004, and France defeated Iceland 5-2 in 2016.
This will be Germany’s 19th quarter-final tie across the World Cup (14) and UEFA European Championship (5) – the most of any European nation at the two major tournaments. They have progressed from 15 of their previous 18 (83%), including all four at the EUROs (1996, 2008, 2012, 2016).
Germany have scored 10 goals across their four matches at EURO 2024, which is already their joint-most in a single edition of the UEFA European Championship. Meanwhile, their shot conversion rate of 13.9% is currently their highest in this competition since EURO 2008 (14.5%); an edition in which they were beaten by Spain in the final.
Spain’s Fabián Ruiz has been involved in five goals in his last four games in all competitions (3 goals, 2 assists). He’s both scored and assisted in two of his three games at EURO 2024 so far – no player has ever done so in three different games at a single edition of the UEFA European Championship.
Toni Kroos has completed 95% of his passes for Germany at EURO 2024 (411/431); the highest completion rate by a player to attempt 300+ passes at a UEFA European Championship tournament (since 1980). Indeed, he also leads all players at EURO 2024 for line-breaking passes (125).
16-year-old Lamine Yamal has provided two assists for Spain so far at EURO 2024, just the third teenager on record (since 1980) to provide multiple assists at the competition after Enzo Scifo (1984) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2004). 94% of his passes have been made while under pressure (106/113), the highest rate of any Spain player to play at least 180 minutes so far at EURO 2024.
Jamal Musiala has scored in three of Germany’s four games at EURO 2024 so far (three goals). The only player to score more goals in a single edition of the tournament while aged 21 or younger was Wayne Rooney for England in 2004 (4).
© 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
